One Day of Life (Masterplots II: American Fiction Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Manlio Argueta
- First Published: 1980
- Type of Plot: Social protest
- Time of Work: 1979
- Setting: El Salvador
- Principal Characters: Guadalupe (Lupe) Fuentes de Guardado, José (Chepe) Guardado, Adolfina Fuentes
- Genres: Long fiction, Problem novel
- Subjects: 1970’s, Protests or demonstrations, 1980’s, Poverty or poor people, Oppression, South America or South Americans, Peasantry or peasants
- Locales: El Salvador
The Novel
The narrative thread recounts one day in the life of a middle-aged peasant woman, from 5:00 a.m., when she arises at dawn, until 5:00 p.m., when she lights the candles as darkness closes in. The chapters divide the day’s segments as she goes about her routine activities of cooking, child care, house and garden work, and musing about the people and events that have shaped and informed her life. This interior monologue reveals her past—the unremitting, wretched poverty as well as her simple, humble acceptance of the inhuman conditions under which she and the other...
[The entire page is 1999 words long]
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